Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Terrorism: What do we need to know?

At Family Security Matters, we know that these are uncertain times. In only a few years, we've lived through 9/11 and two subsequent wars.

We watch the news and hear about nuclear weapons in the hands of our enemies and see the destruction wrought by terrorists in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

We look at the faces of our children, wonder what the future holds for them, and hope that their future is more peaceful than our present.

We try to understand why people would want to kill us and what we must do to stop them, but we are too busy to become experts and it seems like the news media are more interested in entertaining us, or persuading us, than informing us. Once upon a time, we were just like you, eager to understand the world and interested in helping to shape it, but without any real idea of how we could learn and what we could do.

Family Security Matters was created to give Americans like us the tools to become involved citizens and powerful defenders of our homes, our families, and our communities. We believe in the power of everyday Americans to make this world safer and more secure.

We know that knowledge is most powerful when it is shared and so we are dedicated to bringing this knowledge directly to you. We want to equip Americans, women and men, with the information resources to become discriminating citizens who will demand the best out of their elected representatives.

And then we want to show you how you can influence national policy and community security directly, without waiting for government action. We want to be your best resource for accurate and practical knowledge that will make your families and communities safer, stronger, and more secure. This problem is too important to wait for someone else to solve it. So let us give you the information you need in order to become active participants in America's struggle for security and peace.

Terrorist are on a mission . . .

Terrorist attacks upon the United States are not indiscriminate and done merely to kill, without any larger purpose. The very definition of terrorism is the use of violence and intimidation to compel the people and government of a country to make certain policy decisions.

The objectives of groups such as Al Qaeda are quite clear. They seek to punish the United States and the West for perceived attacks upon Muslims worldwide, to secure control over the Middle East and its oil by forcing the withdrawal of Western military forces and cultural influences, and ultimately to establish Islam as the dominant force worldwide by undermining the Western institutions that restrict the ascendancy of radical Islam.

These objectives have been clearly articulated in the published writings and recorded statements of the movement's leaders.

In 1996, Osama bin Laden issued a fatwa, or religious statement, declaring war against the United States. Later statements indicate that he has calculated the number of Muslim deaths due to American policies at 4 million and is willing to kill an equivalent number of Americans, including women and children, in order to achieve his vision.